Abstract
Objective: To assess whether germinating pulses and beans are a potential source of vitamin C in rations for refugee communities with poor vitamin C status.
Design: High pressure liquid chromatographic assessment of vitamin C content of a range of legumes following germination in light and dark and after cooking.
Results: Many species of pulses produced significant quantities of vitamin C up to five days following germination in both light and dark although cooking caused a marked loss of ascorbate.
Conclusion: Germination of approximately half of the seeds of the pulse constituents of many basic rations would be likely to generate, within a 3-5 d germination period, sufficient ascorbate to provide the 10 mg needed to protect adults against the development of scurvy.
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 115-118 |
Number of pages | 4 |
Journal | European Journal of Clinical Nutrition |
Volume | 52 |
Issue number | 2 |
Publication status | Published - Feb 1998 |
Keywords
- vitamin C
- scurvy
- refugee rations
- germinating beans
- high pressure liquid chromatography
- quality
- cooking
- seeds
- acid